Bulldogs Open Fall Racing With Head Of Housatonic

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale women's crew begins its fall schedule with the annual Head of the Housatonic regatta. Racing gets under way Saturday at 8:30 a.m.

Hosted by the New Haven Rowing Club, the Head of the Housatonic is one of the largest single-day head races in the country.

"It has been a beautiful fall on the Housatonic and this race has really become a celebration of rowing in New England," said Yale head coach Will Porter, the 2013 CRCA New England Coach of the Year. "It has become the tune up for the Head of the Charles, and it showcases our river as the best place in New England to row."

Yale will field crews in the open pairs, Division I fours and Division I eights.

"It is a big day of rowing for most of our athletes," Porter said. "They get to race twice, once in the small boats and once in the big boat."

The Bulldogs return a majority of the rowers from the crew that competed at the NCAA Championship last year. Porter also has added a talented freshman class. Yale has earned a team berth to the NCAA Championship for 12 straight years and has had at least one crew compete for the 14th straight years. The Bulldogs have finished in the top-10 in the nation in 11 of the last 12 years.

Still, there is always some uncertainty at the beginning of a new season.

"We have been hard at work trying to get better," Porter said. "Right now we are very much a work in progress, but it is time to race so we will race and race as hard as we can."

The Head of the Housatonic is the first of three regattas for the Bulldogs this fall. They also will race in the Head of the Charles on Oct. 20 and the Princeton Chase on Oct. 27.